Pens Report: Fluery king for this night

Imagine that, a team from New York -- based in Madison Square Garden, no less -- is making headlines.

Many of the players have such exotic surnames as Gaborik, Anisimov and Hagelin. Granted, there are no Ivy Leaguers among them but some went to such fine institutions as Boston College and Michigan.

And unlike the Knicks, the Rangers -- New York's hockey team - are, get this, not just above .500, they are actually in first place in the NHL's Atlantic Division.

Lin-sanity? Try Lund-believable.

Until Tuesday night, that is. Against the Penguins, the Broadway Blueshirts were a little Lund-erwhelming.

The Penguins scored a rare home win over Henrik Lundqvist and Co. In fact, the Penguins' 2-0 victory was their first in six games here, dating back to Nov. 28, 2009.

Of course, Lundqvist's counterpart had a lot to do with that.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves for his third shutout of the season and first since Nov. 21 against the Islanders. Moreover, it was the 22nd shutout of his career, matching Tom Barrasso for most in franchise history.

"I always liked watching (Barrasso) play, for me to be able to reach him to finish it out, it means lot to me," said Fleury. "I've been fortunate to play with good teams and they helped me out a lot to make it."

Fleury had given up one goal eight times since his last shutout, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by his defensemen.

"I thought about it on the bench, we have to play hard to the end just for him, he's been great for us," said Zbynek Michalek.

While Fleury's name has been conspicuously absent from Vezina talk, he is 12-3-1 in his last 16 games while earning his 31st win of the season. Only Detroit's Jimmy Howard and Nashville's Pekka Rinne have more wins with 32 each.

If Tuesday night was a measuring stick, the Penguins passed. Still, they remain a daunting eight points behind the Blueshirts.

ANALYSIS

PITTSBURGH -- It used to be that the role of Penguins' backup goaltender was one of the more coveted positions in Pittsburgh.

Sit on end of bench, wrap towel around neck, make occasional start and voila! the paying public adores you. And for 2½ years that was Brent Johnson's experience in Pittsburgh.

Well, it hasn't quite worked out that way this season for him or the Penguins.

With the NHL's trade deadline less than a week away, a minor roster move on Tuesday may have given the best indication as to what might be in the Penguins' immediate future.

And it would appear Johnson's no longer part of that future.

Prior to their game against the Rangers, the Penguins recalled goaltender Brad Thiessen, along with forward Eric Tangradi, from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

When Johnson was held out of the morning skate, many assumed he'd been placed on unconditional waivers. Turns out Johnson was held out for what is being called an illness. Either way, Dan Bylsma confirmed that the Penguins will be going with three goalies for the time being, unheard of in his tenure as coach.

Look for Thiesssen to make his NHL debut this weekend against Tampa Bay or Columbus. If Thiessen passes said audition it would be hard to imagine a scenario in which Johnson, who is making $600,000 this season, remains in Pittsburgh.

To suggest the popular Johnson has struggled this season is a bit of an understatement. Sunday's meltdown in Buffalo on Sunday was just his latest poor outing. His 3.17 goals-against average and sickly .882 save percentage just aren't acceptable.

While going with an untested goalie - even a backup --- in the playoffs, is less than ideal, Johnson's left Shero with little choice.

If Marc-Andre Fleury were to go down with an injury for a round, the Penguins would stand little to no chance of winning. But you'd like to think that your backup goalie could, if need be, steal a win or two.

That is something Johnson hasn't done enough of.

PLAY OF THE GAME

The Penguins dominated much of the action in the first period, out-shooting New York 11-6 in the process. The Penguins did everything, it seemed, but put the puck past Henrik Lundqvist. That changed 1:05 into the second period when Evgeni Malkin notched his team-leading 33rd of the season. D Kris Letang made the play happen from his own blueline chipping the puck off the glass to Malkin, who caught it at the far blue line and came in unencumbered and beat Lundqvist on his backhand. For the Penguins, they improved to 22-7-3 when scoring first. For Malkin, it ended a three-game goal-less drought and pulled him to within seven of Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos for the Rocket Richard lead.

HIDDEN STAT

22: That's the number of assists this season for forward Pascal Dupuis, who earned a secondary helper on Evgeni Malkin's second-period goal. That assist total is the second-most in the 10-year veteran's career. Dupuis recorded 28 in 2002-03 while a member of the Minnesota Wild.

NEWS & NOTES

-- F Steve Sullivan's second-period goal was his 11th of the season and fifth on the power play. The Penguins have seven players with 11-plus goals this season.

-- Evgeni Malkin's second-period assist on Steve Sullivan's goal was the 300th of his career and 40th of the season. Malkin now has 15 points (eight goals) in 14 games against Atlantic Division teams this season.

-- The Penguins were out-hit 30-18. Brandon Dubinsky threw a game-high seven hits for the Rangers.

-- The Rangers also won the faceoff battle, winning 51 percent of the draws, led by C Derek Stepan, who won eight of 12.

-- Pittsburgh is now 7-1 in its last eight home games.

-- C Jordan Staal had a three-game goal scoring streak snapped.

-- The Penguins were without D Brooks Orpik (upper body), while C Dustin Jeffrey, C Cal O'Reilly and G Brent Johnson were all healthy scratches. Orpik, whose is not expected to keep him out of the lineup for long, has appeared in 563 career games, ninth-most in franchise history. Orpik should move past Dave Burrows (573) for second place on most games by a Penguins blueliner. Ron Stackhouse is the all-time leader with 621 games.

THREE STARS

1. Marc-Andre Fleury, Pit.

2. Evgeni Malkin, Pit.

3. Steve Sullivan, Pit.

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